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Improve your policies on corporate travel

Every company has their corporate travel policy. Lower management might send proposals and they must work within the guidelines you may have provided about the following areas: transportation, meal allowances, and itinerary expenses. Having a better policy in your corporate travel can save you money.

 One of the ways to do this is setting budget limits in your business' travel expenses. For example, you may set a budget for lodging, meals, and activities done by your employees. Any activity outside the agenda of the corporate travel should be considered an out-of-pocket cost, and all receipts should be reported for reimbursement if this has to do with business affairs.

 Now, how do you create a new company policy? It is important to let this information be disseminated with your key stakeholders first. The next step is to let your employees know that you will be changing the travel policies within your company. 

 Some helpful ways to help in improving your current travel policy:

Have clearly worded content: Make sure to use the correct wording such as “always”, “never”, or “case-to-case” basis. Leave no room for confusion about the policy content to prevent loopholes or unwanted justifications from your employees.

Determine what is guaranteed and what it not: When creating new travel policies, state which items are guaranteed coverage and those which will be shouldered by employees. For example, flight expenses and lodging will clearly be covered, while food only has a certain budget. Anything above that must be considered an out-of-pocket expense by the employee.

Indicate who will be affected by the policies: Another point of confusion in creating a new policy is when employees do not know who are affected by the new rules. Thus, it is important to indicate whom the new rules apply to gain clarity for all your company departments.

Place an effective date: It is good to give a little allowance on when you will be implementing the new policy. This is because you don’t want to avoid conflict when there is an ongoing corporate travel event while tackling this endeavor. An effective date such as the following two weeks up to a month is ideal to help your employees get ready for the changes.